On the second day of a week-long mission “Shared Memories – Collective Action” to Rwanda, Africa, representatives of the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) and Rwandan-born students from Belgium have visited the Bisesero Memorial site and met with the Vincent Biruta, President of the country's Senate.
The Bisesero Memorial commemorates a three-month long resistance by the local Tutsi population in the midst of the genocide that would claim the lives of nearly one million victims. The delegation heard testimonies from Rwandan students who had taken part in the Bisesero resistance. No woman and child survived the massacre and the men who resisted the onslaught were decimated to less than 1,000. Some of the Jewish students, whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, said that the skulls and bones evoked the memory of the mount of hair and shoes at Auschwitz that still affects the collective memory of Jews.
In an evening meeting with several Rwandan senators, the President of the Senate Vincent Biruta echoed similar thoughts. He noted that the survivors of genocides and their heirs have an obligation to work together. The Jewish population had dealt with the trauma in a manner that served as a model for Rwanda, he said, adding that he would like to see future generations uniting to help each other.
Adam Mouchtar, the EUJS project coordinator who initiated the mission, promised: “We will continue forging alliances in order to foster collective action between European Jews and Rwandans.” Senator Antoine Mugesera asked members of the delegation to enlist the support within their communities to help Rwanda promote a culture of peace through education and to help preserve the memory of its genocide. He requested that the World Jewish Congress (WJC) be a partner in this. Peleg Reshef, the WJC Director of Future Generations, pointed out that “the WJC will continue to bring its expertise in this field to help link the Jewish community to those who have experienced other genocides. We will continue to engage young leaders in educational and political actions to prevent future genocides.”
Read more about the Shared memories - Collective action project